Mujadara (Lentils & Rice with Crispy Onions)
Today we are making Mujadara (Lentils & Rice with Crispy Onions)! So deciding to make this dish takes inspiration by my around-the-world cooking craze. After endless amounts of chocolate, peanut butter, funfetti, chocolate chip cookies, and all these American-style dishes, I went through a phase of cooking foods specifically not from the US. Which is why you may see more ethnic dishes coming up on the blog, and that’s exciting!
This recipe is a Middle Eastern rice dish consisting of rice and lentils cooked in spices such as garlic, bay leaves, cumin and more (I also added cinnamon). Then it is layered with caramelized onions, fried in oil.
It is a simple concept, uses many pantry staples and the flavor is amazing! I served it with some fresh cilantro and yogurt (vegan coconut yogurt!) on top. That’s usually how it is served.
Going the extra mile in the cooking process to make the crispy onions for this dish is what separates it from any old rice and lentils dish. These onions have to be caramelized in a lot of oil though. I cut this in half for my recipe, because I found that I personally didn’t need that much. Feel free to add more oil if you’d like, as that’s the usual way to cook them.
After pan-frying, we then lay the crispy caramelized onions out on a towel to cool and crisp up. At the end, we stir them into the main dish!
Why You’ll Love This Mujadara (Lentils & Rice with Crispy Onions)
The Best Hearty Meal: Mujadara is a lentil dish that’s so filling and is high in protein and fiber. It makes for a healthy dinner and a great meal prep option! The crispy fried onions, cooked lentils and rice combined with the mixture of fragrant spices is a total game changer!
Substitutions
Rice: I used long grain brown rice, but you can substitute in white Basmati rice or long-grain white rice as well. I recommend not to use quick-cooking varieties of rice. They will cook way faster than the lentils, which may cause the rice to overcook and get mushy.
Cinnamon Stick: Use a fresh cinnamon stick versus ground cinnamon. This will impart the flavor, and you can take it out at the end before serving.
Brown Lentils: There are different lentil varieties, with the main three colors being green (such as French green lentils), brown or yellow / red lentils. I used brown lentils in this recipe, but different mujadara dishes use different types. Do not substitute for another color, as they all have different cooking times.
Cumin Seeds: Use roasted and ground cumin seed powder. You can find this at Indian grocery stores.
Olive Oil: Avocado oil may work as well for the cooking oil.
Red Onions: These are more bitter than yellow onions. Do not substitute.
Serve This Recipe With
Serve with dollops of vegan yogurt, chopped cilantro (or other fresh herbs like parsley), and a squeeze of lemon juice on top (alternatively, serve lemon wedges on the side or grate on lemon zest)! As a side dish, serve a salad with warm pita bread.
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If you make this Mujadara recipe, then leave a comment and star rating! Don’t forget to tag your photos @peanut_palate on Instagram. Enjoy!
Mujadara (Lentils & Rice with Crispy Onions)
Equipment
- 2 Skillets
Ingredients
For the Lentils & Rice
- 2 medium cloves garlic finely grated
- ¼ medium whole cinnamon stick
- 1 medium bay leaf
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
- 1½ tsp roasted and ground cumin seed powder
- ¾ tsp pink salt add more as desired at the end
- 2½ cups of water
- ½ cup uncooked brown rice, long grain
- ½ cup cooked and boiled brown lentils
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
For the Onions
- 2½ tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium red onion thinly sliced
- ⅛ tsp pink salt
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat on the stove top, combine all the ingredients up to and including the water, and bring it to a boil.
- Once it is boiling, add in the rice and move the heat to medium. Let it simmer for 10 minutes, then add in the lentils and simmer again on medium-low for ~20 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed.
- In a separate skillet over medium-high heat (make sure it is wide so your onions can spread out), add the olive oil. When it's hot, throw in the onions and stir them every so often to make sure they don't stick to the pan.
- When they are starting to brown, turn the stove to low heat to let them slowly cook and caramelize, for about 25 minutes. Add in extra oil as needed. The onions should not be drying out too much.
- Once this is done, take the onions out of the pan using a slotted spoon (to drain the excess oil) and spread them on a lined plate to cool. Sprinkle the 1/8 teaspoon over them, and let them cool.
- When the lentils and cooked rice are done, take them off the heat and put a towel over top of them to absorb steam for 10-15 minutes.
- Throw away the bay leaves and add the cilantro into the pot. Serve warm, and garnish with more cilantro as desired.
Notes
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Storage
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- Inspired by this recipe.
